The New Teacher
by loadofschmidt
Summary: Jess gets a new teaching job and falls for the scruffy hunk in the back row. Who wouldn't? An alternate universe Nick and Jess with lots of drama as usual.
1. Chapter 1

"Ms Day, it's Amanda from the Greenfield Adult's school of Arts, just calling to let you know a job has opened up for one of our creative writing classes. Unfortunately, the previous teacher, Mr Nert has uh – is sadly no longer with us. That means we kind of need someone to fill the spot asap. Give me a call back when you get this."

Jess lost her job teaching middle schoolers about three months ago. She'd spent a couple of weeks interviewing for new roles; primary school, high school, even adult education, until she simply gave up.

Instead of lounging around and crying about all of the unfortunate events that had occurred, she decided to use that time to get herself together.

She had finally moved out into her own apartment. It only had one bedroom, one bathroom and a tiny little living area. But it felt much more adult than leeching off her best friend Cece, which she had been doing ever since her break up with 'soulmate' Spencer six months ago.

* * *

She went to weekly cooking classes, did yoga three days a week and even started reading again. Something she hadn't had a chance to do since she was a teenager.

She was finally getting it together. Feeling better about herself than she had in years. And just as if it was meant to be, she landed a job.

"As most of you have probably heard, Pete sadly past over the weekend." The class began mumbling in surprise between themselves as Amanda explained the situation.

"However, we've managed to find the best possible replacement to take over for the rest of the semester. Everyone please welcome your new teacher, Jessica Day!"

As Jess walked into the classroom, having waited patiently outside for Amanda to discuss what was going on, the room went silent. That really freaked her out.

She was used to teaching kids. Children. Boys and girls who weren't her age, or even close.

Now she was standing in front of fifteen 20-30ish year olds. And her stomach sunk instantly.

"Umm hi guys. I'm Jessica." She smiled awkwardly. Suddenly feeling very small in her knee length, yellow sundress.

"Tell us a bit about yourself." One of the younger guys yelled out in a flirty tone. "What's your boyfriend like?" Everyone found that extremely entertaining. Except Jess. Who giggled in discomfort.

Amanda left the room and Jess was left to fend for herself. Clearing her throat, she attempted to shift into teacher mode.

"I've never really taught adults before, so please, bear with my middle school techniques. But I'd love to get to know you all before we start." The class began to chat yet again as Jess suggested they go around the room and introduce themselves a little.

Everyone seemed nice. Some overly and rather uncomfortably nice. Particularly the gentleman in the room who made their confidence very clear.

"I'm Jake. 28. Love long walks on the beach. Yellow sundresses. Beautiful women." Jess chuckled uncomfortably as the men continued to describe themselves like something you'd see on a tinder bio. It was going to be a long month.

Finally, she got to the last guy in the back corner of the room. The only one who hadn't had some form of comment to make or opinion to share.

He was wearing a dark navy flannel, enough buttons left undone that Jess could just see the hairs on his chest. His face was a kind of scruffy that she didn't really know she liked, until she saw it on him. It was a weird feeling for her. She had never really been attracted to a guy before even hearing him talk, but she was kind of drawn to his mysterious aura as soon as she walked into the room.

"Oi, zombie boy, your turn." One of the obnoxious guys, whom Jess had already labelled 'loser number 1' yelled out across the room.

It was pretty easy to tell that flannel guy wasn't super popular amongst his classmates. Especially when he looked up at 'loser number 1' with the most unamused expression. Jess couldn't help but laugh. He looked like a turtle.

"I'm Nick Miller." He pursed his lips together as he gave Jess a nod and a half-assed wave. "Nice to meet you, Jessica."

His voice was low and gravelly. And he said her name with such a… Jess had a little shiver run down her spine as she replayed the way he said it. He raised an eyebrow and let off a low chuckle as she continued to look at him with her eyes kind of squinted. Like she was trying to figure him out.

"Nice to meet you, uh… Nick Miller" He gave her a smile and went back to his notebook, as one of the other losers called something else objectifying towards her.

* * *

Nick hated the class. But he went every week. Both sessions. Without fail.

It was as if he needed to prove something to himself. To show himself, his roommates, the entire world, that he COULD commit to something.

He was a law school drop-out, three failed long term relationships (with the same girl) and he was still living with his college roommates. He needed this. For his own sanity.

It was nothing against old Nert, he was a cool guy and he always made sure to help Nick out. And it wasn't against the school. It was a nice place. A cool idea.

It was all the douchebags in his class that treated every session like they were the jocks in high school. Too attached to the concept of popularity and getting lunch time success than actually going out in the world and doing something with their lives.

He despised them. Almost all of them. So every Tuesday and Thursday, he would sit silently in the back corner, minding his own business and working on that week's project. Just doing what he could to get that little bit closer to where he wanted to be, with his name on the front of a novel.

* * *

As the class began to pack up and leave the room, Jess was inundated with overly friendly handshakes and more private introductions by those same losers she had picked out earlier.

Being as polite as the job description required, she smiled and told them all she would see them on Thursday. Being a little obvious as she shut down their suggestive hints.

Packing up her things, she noticed him still seated in the back corner. Heavily focussed on his notepad and completely oblivious to the fact he was now the only one still in his seat.

She took a deep breath and cleared her throat softly, but still obvious enough to get his attention.

"What are you working on there, Nick?" She wandered closer, leaning on the desk in front of his as he began to put his books in his back pack.

"Just letting my 'creative juices flow'" he chuckled a little as he gently mocked what she had said earlier, bringing a smile to her lips.

"Good to see at least someone listened to my little speech. I mean, I spent all night rehearsing it." She looked down at her feet nervously as she realised she probably seemed like such an idiot.

"Honestly, Jessica, don't worry about them losers." He stood up, slipping his bag over his shoulder.

She was cute. He couldn't deny that. No matter how much he was sure he had 'sworn off women since Caroline.' And she was all nervous and sweet. He could tell she was having a hard time. It wouldn't be easy in front of a group of morons like his classmates.

"They don't even want to be here. Don't let them get to you. Don't let them waste your time."

He brushed past her as he headed for the door. She snapped back into reality just before he left.

"Thanks Nick. I needed that." He stopped and turned around. Flashing her a genuine smile.

Maybe this job wouldn't be so bad.


	2. Chapter 2

"I'm telling you, Ceec, these guys are the worst!" Jess sat down on her couch besides Cece, passing her a glass of wine and taking a sip from her own. "They're a bunch of flirts! They could care less about learning!"

Cece laughed. Jess was the best. Pure and beautiful in every single way. But she had really been lacking in the male department ever since her break up. In fact, she had been avoiding the male department all together.

"Maybe you should use one of these guys to get back out there a little. They're obviously keen. I mean, what guy hasn't dreamed of getting it on with his pretty, bubbly English teacher?"

"No way, Cece. I could never ever date a student. That's like –" Jess pretend gagged in the most dramatic way possible. "Plus, they're all a bunch of jerks."

"You're not teaching teenagers anymore, Jess. These guys are men. And they just want a good time. Surely there was at least one that's semi-tolerable? A free meal? Maybe a little bit of after-hours extra credit?" Cece gave Jess a nudge, to which Jess blushed.

"I mean there was one guy who was kind of cute. Kind of mysterious. Kind of nice?" She blushed a little as Cece watched on amused, pulling Jess' laptop onto her lap.

"Name?"

"Umm, I think he said Nick." She was playing dumb and Cece could see it all over her face.

"Oh, you mean this guy? The top of the list in your 'recent searches'?"

"Okay, so maybe I Facebook stalked him. I just wanted to suss him out a little."

"Oooooh Jess, he's cute. In like a scruffy, caveman kind of way?"

"Okay, that'll do." Jess closed the laptop and changed the subject to Cece's new boyfriend.

* * *

"Nicholas, I am so so sorry for your loss."

Nick slumped down on the couch, beer in one hand, picking up the remote in the other.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Schmidt."

"I read your emails! Your teacher died!"

Nick laughed.

"Don't read my emails, man."

"Remember when you came crying to me about that little red number on top of the mail app on your phone? When you said it was stressing you out and you needed me to fix it?"

"No, Schmidt, I remember when YOU said it was stressing YOU out. I don't even know how to use this thing." He threw his phone on the couch next to him.

"Ooohlala, who's Jessica Day?" Schmidt wriggled his eyebrows, having picked up Nick's phone scrolling through the notifications instantly.

"What? Who?" Nick attempted to snatch the phone back but Schmidt easily dodged.

"Accept." Schmidt said as he clicked the 'accept friend request' button and Nick's eyes went big.

"What the hell did you just do, Schmidtty?" Nick finally grabbed the phone and assessed the damage.

"If some reasonably attractive, brunette with bangs wants to slide into your dms on Facebook, Nicholas, as your best friend, I will NOT let you pass up on the opportunity."

"That's my new teacher, douchebag!" Nick yelled distractedly, as he began scrolling through her wall.

* * *

Jess had taken about four classes so far. She was getting to know her students. Even starting to like them. Some of them, anyway.

Teaching adults was something very different to what she was used to. Their minds worked a very different way to children with significantly less life experience. She was definitely adjusting.

But it was hard to not play favourites in a class full of people nearly her age. She was constantly having to remind herself, these people weren't her friends, they were her students.

But when she was scrolling through their work at home, writing little comments on the side and little smiley faces at the end, she couldn't help but pay a little more attention to some more than others.

Nick Miller was definitely one of those who took up a little more of her time.

The way he wrote was just… so unexpected. So out of character for the man she thought he was. She really couldn't work him out.

So she would read over and over his work. Trying to find little clues. Anything at all that might help her uncover who the quiet and mysterious man that would smile up at her softly from his desk in the back of her classroom really was.

"Hey Nick!" She had spent the whole class trying to work out what to say to him – anything at all that might trigger a conversation, but as soon as she saw him turn around, on his way out the door, she forgot everything she had rehearsed.

He smiled, leaning up against the door frame. "How can I help you?"

"I – uh – was just wondering how you were finding the class?" She didn't know why she was suddenly nervous. She was his teacher for goodness sake. She stood in front of him and fifteen other people for four hours a week and talked with hardly a problem. But all of a sudden, standing in a room alone with him, and Jessica Day was nervous.

"The class is great. I think you're doing great, Jessica." He chuckled at her shyness. But he really wasn't lying. She was a great teacher and he was getting a lot out of the sessions. He just thought her need for reassurance was more than cute.

"Jess." She blushed and he raised an eyebrow with a smirk. "Call me Jess."

"Okay, Jess." He snorted. Continuing to lean confidently on the wall, patiently waiting for her to say something.

"I really like the way you write." She busted out. "The way you connect your words. It's like you say just enough that it's not enough. It's captivating and kind of mysterious. I guess like you, Nick."

He bit down on his bottom lip for a moment. Tapping on the door frame and considering her words.

He finally allowed his eyes to meet hers once again. No words could really do justice to what he was feeling in that moment. She was the first person who had really taken the time to comprehend his writing. But she was his teacher. That was her job.

"You're not really like the other teachers, are ya Jess?" He let off a little chuckle and with that, he left for the weekend.


	3. Chapter 3

Cece and Jess made their way through the doors of a little bar up the street from Cece's apartment. It was quiet for a Friday night but she was still excited. Spending a night out on the town with her best friend was always a good time. Even if it was at some run down pub on the corner. And even if she was about to be introduced to yet another one of Cece's probably no-good-loser boyfriends.

"I really think you're gonna like this guy, Jess." Cece smiled excitedly.

Just before Jess could respond, she froze, instantly noticing the man behind the bar.

"Ooooh no Cece, we gotta go…" Jess whispered as she turned around to face Cece.

"What? Why?"

"That's him!" Jess was getting even more antsy as Cece raised her eyebrow in confusion.

"Who's him? Jess, what the hell is going on?"

"The guy behind the bar… that's Nick Miller… remember? Cute, mysterious guy in my English class?"

"Oh my God, that's Nick Miller?" Cece said, standing on her tiptoes to see Nick innocently serving a customer. "Jess, that's my boyfriend's roommate." She began to laugh as she spun Jess around and lead her towards the bar.

"Hey Nick." Cece smiled, waiting for Nick to look up from the drink he was pouring.

"Cece, hey, Schmidt's just –" a smirk crossed his lips as he realised who Cece was standing beside. "Jessica."

"Jess." She smiled back. Feeling a little less intimidated after his smile.

"Ohhh I see him!" Cece said with a chuckle as she left to go and sit with Schmidt.

Jess let her eyes follow Cece, trying to buy herself a little time to get herself together. He was just one of her students. Why was she freaking out?

"So a bartender, hey?"

"You got me there." He held that smile on his face. She was so nervous. "What can I get ya?"

"I'll have one of your sweetest rosès, kind sir!" She attempted to cover her swirling anxiousness with one of her best cartoon voices.

"One fancy pink wine coming up." He laughed as he turned around to grab a bottle.

"So you live with Cece's boyfriend?"

"Unfortunately." He said with a smile as he slid the drink in front of her.

"Is he that bad?" Jess's eyes went impossibly bigger and Nick was kind of captivated by the worry that took over.

"Oh no no, I'm just kidding. Schmidt's great. If you're into super clean, douche baggy, metrosexual businessmen, which your friend apparently seems to be." Nick gestured for her to turn around to see Cece and an extremely well-groomed man in a suit all over each other in the booth behind her.

"Oh my God." Jess brought her hands to her face as she moaned. "Cece invited me out tonight to meet this guy, not look at the back of his head the whole time." Jess let off a whiny laugh as Nick chuckled in entertainment.

"Well, Schmidt did mention he was coming here to meet Cece's best friend, I just assumed she'd be some model with zero personality." He gestured at her drink, reminding her it was there.

"Sorry to disappoint you there, buddy." She took a sip. "Holy Chicago, this may just be the best wine I've ever had."

"Holy Chicago?" Nick ran a hand through his hair and laughed. "Definitely not disappointed."

Nick and Jess continued their small talk, mostly revolving around Cece and Schmidt, until Jess finished her first glass.

"How much do I owe you?" Nick stood up from the spot he had taken leaning on the bar in front of her. Suddenly snapped out of his relaxed and smiley trance he had stumbled into.

"For the drink? Nothing Jess, don't be stupid." He was a little embarrassed suddenly. Refilling her glass, she gave him a gentle smile.

"Don't think this will have any impact on your grades, mister." She raised her glass in a cheers kind of style as she hopped off the stool.

"I guess I had better go meet this magical man you speak of." He had a real genuine smile on his face. It had been a very long time since he could confidently say he had enjoyed small and mindless chatter at the bar.

"You should join us, Nick, if you get a minute free." The smile didn't leave her lips as she looked back at him, he was smiling too, but hadn't said anything. "I might need some back up to pull these two apart."

"Yeh." His voice was kind of low and filled with concentration, smile still on his face. "I'll see."

Jess cleared her throat as she reached the table, causing both Cece and Schmidt to jump a little and separate.

"Jessica, it's an absolute delight to have your company this evening." Schmidt stood up and reached a hand out towards Jess.

"Hi Schmidt, nice to meet you too." Jess said, trying to contain her laughter. She turned towards Nick who was watching with an entertained look on his face.

"So, Ms Day, Cece tells me you're the hot teacher my dear friend Nicholas is always talking about."

Jess's face quickly turned serious as she shot Cece a look, to which Cece smirked and shrugged her shoulders.

"Uh, yeh, I teach Nick at Greenfield. He's a great writer, heaps of potential." Jess said nervously, taking another sip of her wine.

"He's got a lot of potential in all areas, if you ask-"

"Schmidt, what the hell." Nick interrupted as he slammed another drink down in front of Schmidt.

"What? You know how highly I think of you, Nick." Schmidt argued.

"I guess I had better sit down before my buddy here says something else he will regret later." Nick gave Jess an awkward smile before taking a seat next to her.

* * *

It was about 1am when Jess began to feel tired. She was a fair few wines in and her cheeks hurt from smiling.

She had had a really great night.

Schmidt was great. Cece was so obviously head over heels in love. And Nick? Nick was maybe the best company she had had in a very long time.

But she could no longer hold in her exhaustion as she let out a yawn.

"Someone can't handle their wine." Nick laughed as he whispered to Jess.

Cece and Schmidt were back getting it on with their mouths across the table and Nick had just returned from serving a customer.

"I have a feeling Cece's sleepover offer is no longer an option." Jess laughed raising her eyebrows at the two.

"Big Bob is on pack up duty tonight so I was going to crash early. How far away is your place from here?"

"Oh, Nick, I really don't –" Jess sat up straight and began to stumble with her words.

"No not like that. I just meant if you need some company on the way home." He smirked. It was way too easy to make her nervous. "Seeing as" he gestured to Cece.

"Oh…" She tried to hide the soft smile that began to take over. "That would be really nice."

She knew she was asking for trouble.

This really cute guy that she had had her eyes on for more than a few weeks now, offering to walk her home, after a few drinks…

But the worst part, which she continually attempted to push out of her head – he was her student.

He held the door for her and she shivered instantly as the cold hit her bare arms. Maybe it was the cold. Or maybe it was the blood pumping adrenaline that was filling every vein in her body.

"Have you lived around here for a while?" He asked as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

"A couple of months." Her voice sounded a little raspy, like she hadn't spoken a word all day.

He smiled, looking over at her as she walked besides him.

"How about LA? Have you always lived here?"

She looked over at him and let out a chuckle. He could read her nerves like a book.

"I lived with Cece before moving into this place. I had a pretty crappy breakup before then." She sighed, looking back at the ground in front of her and rubbing a hand down her arm. "It's been a fun six years."

"Well, it looks like you've come out of it all pretty good." She blushed and his smiley got even bigger.

They walked in silence for the next few minutes. But it wasn't a weird and uncomfortable kind of silence. It was almost the opposite. Way too comfortable.

"Well," She began fishing for her keys in her bag "this is my stop!"

He took his hand out of his pocket and rubbed it on his jeans. Now it was her turn to smile. Clearly he had the sweaty palm nerves the whole time.

"I'll, uh, see you at school, Nick." She couldn't even look into his eyes. She knew she would get lost straight away. _Resist resist resist._

"Yeh, thanks Jess." But he didn't move and neither did she. She couldn't physically take a step away from him. But she could feel his eyes staring hard into the top of her head.

"Jess." His voice was so sexy but also sweet and the only thing she could compare this moment to was her first ever kiss. She wanted it so bad but was so terrified to go through with it.

He placed a finger under her chin, guiding her eyes to finally find his, where she was met with his mind blowing smile.

She swallowed hard and shattered into a million pieces as soon as his mouth hit hers. It moved so slowly she could feel every single move he made and every single atom of his body that made contact with hers.

It was kind of unrealistic. Like a dream where she was in some third person viewing box with a special zoom camera.

But as she fell deeper and deeper into his body and wrapped her hand around his neck to pull him impossible closer, she realised it absolutely was not a dream. And she absolutely was living this exact moment.

But then it dawned on her. After what felt like a solid five minutes of being completely captivated by his lips on hers.

"Wait." She slipped her hands to his chest and pushed him away. His eyes still hazed and his weight still falling towards her. "This isn't right, Nick. I won't kiss my student."

It truly took him a minute to readjust into the real world but as soon as he realised what she had said he let out a laugh.

"I think you just did." He mumbled, still grinning.

"This is the first and the last time. I mean it." The only way for her to be able to walk away from him at the moment was by flicking into teacher mode. Standing strong and not backing down. "Thanks for walking me home."

"Anytime."


	4. Chapter 4

She was in a fluster. Running late to class was the kind of thing she had nightmares about. But her dreams were a little too captivating at the moment. That was the problem.

"Hi guys! I'm so sorry about the time." She dropped her books onto the desk and fixed her bangs. Refusing to look in the back left corner of the classroom. She would just pretend he wasn't there. It would be fine.

"Big weekend, Ms Day?" One of the jerks yelled out across the room. Then HE let out a stupid, cocky snort and she was so sure she had turned visibly red from head to toe.

"Should we get started?" She took off her coat and began the class. Fighting with every single inch of her being to stop herself from looking at those lips again.

And it went so well, until she had to hand his project back.

"Great work, as usual, Nick." She mumbled, unable to resist the soft smile that came across her lips.

"Thank you, Ms Day." His fingers brushed hers as he took the paper and she finally met his eye.

"Nick." She raised an eyebrow. Trying to refrain from giggling.

"Sorry." He chuckled. "Thanks, Jess."

And with that, it kind of felt normal again. It switched from knife cutting tension to back and forward smiles. She could totally live with this, at least until next time she was left alone with him.

* * *

"No, no, no, Cece! I don't need your help! I made it very clear it is NOT happening again."

Cece laughed as she poured another glass of wine.

"Schmidt's having a party on Saturday night. This is your formal invitation."

"No way." Jess shook her head way to dramatically. "I know exactly what you're doing."

"Jess, it's my boyfriend's birthday and he's having some friends come around for a while. That's all I'm saying. You're the one making this about him."

"I can't be around him outside of school."

"Because you're totally, head over heels, into him?" Cece smirked.

"Because I can't hook up with my student! And every time I see him, I – UGH. This is your fault." Jess stood up and stomped around the room. "This is not happening."

* * *

"Hey, Jess, wait up!" She could hear him jogging up behind her as she headed towards the school on Thursday morning. And her instant response was to speed up.

He'd been on her mind every waking moment (and every sleeping, but that's a different Jess.)

"Nick, hi!" She nervously reorganised the pile of books in her arms until she felt him grab them.

"How are ya?" He asked, and it was so genuine she almost laughed.

"Thanks." She mumbled and he raised an eyebrow. "The books! Thanks for carrying my books."

"Oh, yeah, of course."

"But I'm great! Never been better. Love school. Love this place." Now she was smiling because she sounded so dumb there was no point trying to hide it. "How have you been?"

"I'm good, Jess. Never been better." He chuckled as they hit the classroom.

* * *

Before this whole thing began, Nick never spoke a word in class. Now, his participation was above all of the other students. Which sucked for her because she had to contain her little teenage crush in front of the entire class.

But it was bold for him, too. He wanted to be involved and he wanted to speak. Much to his classmate's surprise.

"Hey Zombie Boy, how about you go back to scribbling in your dear diary?" One of the jackass's said.

"How about you show some respect for our teacher, dumb ass." Nick responded almost instantly and he kind of had to cover his blush.

"I think she's doing just fine to be honest. Looking fine too, can I add." The whole class was silent now, listening to the two of them have some high school fight across the room.

"You scumbag, piece of shit." Nick pushed his chair out and stood up. What the hell was he doing? He was about to fight this guy for a chick he had kissed once.

"Nick!" Jess yelled. Full teacher voice. It shook him straight out of his focus. "Sit down, Nick." She said again, a lot softer this time.

He let out a long breath and a ton of anger came with it. Rubbing a hand along his face, he pulled himself together.

How the fuck could someone talk to a woman with as much class and purity as Jess, like that? Oh man, he could have murdered him.

* * *

Nick was kind of embarrassed and so was Jess. But she was also kind of like, a lot flattered. And it was extremely attractive to see a man like Nick get a little bit protective.

"Hey Nick, could you stay back a minute?" She caught his attention just as he was about to leave.

"I'm sorry about that, Jess. He's just such a jackass. And the way he talks to you? Fuck. It makes me so mad."

She laughed a little. It was so much easier when he was the one nervous mumbling.

"No, it was cool of you. So thanks." She began packing up her books slowly, thinking of any other reason to keep him there. "I just wanted to say thanks."

"For almost killing a guy in front of your English class?"

"For not being like the other jackass's."

He looked at her for a minute. They were both smiling now. That comfy smile coming back.

"It's my roommate's birthday this weekend." He cleared his throat. "Cece will probably be there. I'll probably be there. Do you… wanna come?"

She bit her tongue a little to hold in her smile.

"Oh yeh, Cece mentioned something about that the other day-"

"You should definitely come." He interrupted her, before she had the chance to shut him down.

"Yeh, maybe."

* * *

It was almost 9:30 and the party was kind of lame.

Schmidt had gone completely overboard (surprise surprise), especially considering he had only invited about 30 people.

But there was free alcohol and all of his old mates were there, so Nick was pretty happy.

"Cece, hi." Nick mimicked her position against the kitchen bench, looking out towards Schmidt, Winston and a few other guys who were deeply involved in a game of beer pong.

"How's it going?" She smiled a knowing smile and it kind of made him blush.

"Jess isn't here yet, is she?" He pulled out his phone, pretending to check it even though he knew he would have no notifications.

"Oh, did she tell you she was coming?" Cece bit back her laugh. Of course Jess would have a change of heart if he invited her.

"I mean, I mentioned it to her the other day and –" His sentence was cut short as Jess walked through the door in a cute little yellow dress with a black belt in the middle.

"Hi" Jess said with a shaky voice, as Nick placed a hand on her elbow and leaned in to give her a casual kiss on the cheek. As if it was a normal thing he was just allowed to do.

"I thought you weren't coming." Cece laughed as she pulled Jess in for a quick hug.

"I finished my marking so I thought, why not!" She pierced her lips together as to threaten Cece with her eyes.

"I'm glad you could make it, Jess." Nick didn't seem to notice the stare-off that Jess and Cece were having right in front of him.

She gave him a smile, but not too sweet. Not while Cece was watching.

"Where's the birthday boy?"

"Oh, wait here, I'll go get him." And with that, Cece left them alone.

"So this is it, huh? The bachelor pad?" Jess smiled, as she wandered a few steps away from him.

"This is the home ground. Doesn't get much manlier." He laughed. Fuck, this was going to be harder than it needed to be.

"Mrssssss Jesssssiccaaa Dayyyy" Schmidt pulled her into the biggest hug as Cece followed behind him.

"Happy birthday Schmidt!" She struggled as the hug soon became her holding up his entire weight.

"Doing okay there, Schmidtty?" Nick asked as he pulled Schmidt's shoulders off of her.

"Oh my goodness, Nick. Your hot teacher is here! Let's get her drunk!"

"I think you've drunk enough for the entire party, buddy." Nick shook his head at Jess, but he kept the smirk on his face as he watched her blush.

"Nicholas, Jessica, Cecelia. We need to do shots. Right now."

* * *

Jess was feeling good. Definitely still in control of herself, but just loose enough that she wasn't so nervous anymore.

Nick had introduced her to all of his friends. Most of them were his rowdy college pals who seemed to give him a little congratulatory wink every time she shook their hand. It made her feel confident and terrified at the same time.

Cece had quickly disappeared, just as Jess imagined she would have. But it was probably for the best. She was going a little crazy trying to convince her there was nothing going on.

But Nick kept pouring her drinks and asking her questions. Laughing at her jokes and shaking his head admirably every time she said something stupid.

She felt really, really good.

Flirting was never something she was good at. She would say something dumb and scare the guy away or try too hard, which would also lead to scaring the guy away.

But as corny as it sounded in her head, she was not trying at all with Nick. It was terrifyingly natural and her bravado was building every time smiled. Which was like, the whole time.

She was too busy thinking about how good she felt to realise they were just smiling at each other. The conversation had ended.

He took a long drink of his beer and she couldn't help but stare at his jawline. The way his adam's apple bobbed a little as he swallowed, how his navy button up revealed just a little bit too much forearm –

"Where's the bathroom?" She snapped out of her trance in desperation of a distraction.

"Oh, just through here." He began to walk in front of her which made her freak out even more.

"You stay here, I'll find it."

When she returned, he was definitely not there and it made her heart sink a little.

She had regrouped in front of the mirror. Pulled her brain out of the gutter and regained consciousness. But now he had disappeared.

She scanned the room until she met eyes with a smiling Cece. Who nodded in the direction of his bedroom.

Ugh. Cece knew exactly who she was looking for.

She couldn't follow him in there. That was absolutely asking for trouble.

She thought about leaving the party. Saying her goodbyes to Schmidt and Cece and ducking out before he had the chance to notice.

But her body refused to walk her to the door, regardless of how her mind knew it was the right thing to do.

Maybe she could pop her head into his door and say a quick goodbye. Without even entering the room. Just a quick "see-ya!" and she's out. Home run.

Heading towards his door she could hear him talking. Was he with someone?

She peaked around the corner and saw he had his back to the door and his phone to his ear.

"I miss you. Yeah, me too." Her heart had sunk all the way to her toes but she couldn't help listening. "I love you, too." His voice was kind of sensitive and way less manly than she was used to.

She swallowed hard and he turned around, phone still pressed to his ear.

Her eyes went huge and she raised a hand in defence, about to run as far away as humanly possible.

"Jess, hold on, I'll be one sec." He covered the microphone with his hand and his words came off as a beg.

"Yeh, I'm still here." He spoke back into the microphone, raising his finger to imply one second.

"I've gotta go, I love you." He said again as he hung up the phone.

"Jess, thank god you're still here!" His face was super serious and so was Jess's.

She had this horrible sick feeling in her stomach. Like she had just caught him cheating on her and they weren't even together.

And it took him about half a second to understand her expression.

"Oh, no, Jess, that was my mum. She lives in Chicago and I haven't been home in a few months, so she calls me all the time."

Jess was so embarrassed. As if she had just got almost jealous over Nick talking to his mum? And the worst part was that he knew it too.

"Oh, yeah, no, you don't have to explain anything to me." She let off the most awkwardly nervous laugh and he took a few steps closer to her.

"I'm not seeing anyone else, Jess, I promise." He was getting closer and his voice was kind of low and gravelly.

"You don't have to explain anything to me." She said again, this time her voice impossibly more shakey.

"Yeh, but I want to."

She put her hand to his chest, as a natural response to stop him coming any closer, but as soon as she did, she felt his heart beating as fast as hers.

This time, he was the one that swallowed hard.

"Jessica." The word barely left his lips as they continued the most sexually frustrating stare off in all of human existence. In any normal circumstance, she would sarcastically correct him for the use of her full name. But at the point all she could mutter was a "yeah".

"I need to kiss you." And woops, that was the breaking point.

Her flat palm on his chest soon became a fist as she pulled him to her mouth by the buttons on his shirt.

This kiss was impossibly infuriating.

She was sure every single ounce of sexual tension she had ever experienced in her life was going directly into his lips.

He guided her backwards towards the bed and in one swift movement, she was straddling his lap. Still without even taking a second to breath. There was no time.

Without even thinking she began undoing the buttons of his shirt and his hands ran under her dress.

It was happening so fast, she had never felt anything like it.

He had left her lips for no longer than a second and a moan had left her throat.

Kissing down her jawline he began to mumble.

"I can't stop dreaming about you." His voice was so breathless and basically just pure sex. She closed her eyes and made room for his mouth on her collarbone, behind her ear.

This was wild. She was not this kind of girl. Sex for her was always sweaty, awkward and moderately satisfying.

But right now it was nothing but pure, extravagant, lust and they hadn't even taken their clothes off.

His fingers got closer and closer to the line where her underwear began and she let out a big breath.

"It's hard to be around you." He finally met her lips again and the cold air instantly hit her neck. "I see you at school" He said breathlessly in between motions "and I have to keep reminding myself not to slam you against the door right there and then."

"Stop reminding me that I'm your teacher." She pulled back a little, despite the magnetic force dragging her back.

"I don't care." He ran a finger under the seam on her thigh and her whole body melted instantly. "I'll drop out." He mumbled against her neck.

It took every single piece of strength she had to grab his hand dead in their tracks.

"Stop." She barely whispered as she rested her forehead on his shoulder. "This can't happen if..." She tried to get her breath back as she pulled his hand up to where they both could see it. "If things are going to change."

His eyes were so dazed and filled with lust she could have sworn his pupils were about to take over the whole of his eyes.

"This is a really bad idea." She let her hand stroke over his cheek and felt the tingle as his stubble scratched her fingers.

"Yeah" He cleared his throat, "probably."

He kissed her again. This time it was kind of gentle and slow.

"Please, Nick." It came out as kind of a moan in between pecks. But her hand was on his chest now and she was pushing against him a little. "If we keep going, I won't be able to stop."

"Mmmm" now it was his turn to moan against her lips, sending a vibration through her whole body.

"Hey, Jess, I'm about to head off if you want a lift!" Cece's voice got louder as she got closer to the door. "Oh, fuck."

"Cece, oh my god." Jess pushed Nick backwards and leaped off of his lap. "I didn't – I wasn't"

"So it looks like you're all good getting home?" Cece smiled her best 'I told you so' smile.

"No, I'm coming with you, I just –" Jess was all flustered, turning around to look back at Nick who had laid back onto his bed with his hands rubbing his face and his jeans looking rather tight.

"I'll see you at school, Nick." Jess shooed Cece out the door and didn't say another word for the entire trip home.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello everyone! Sorry this update was delayed (I don't have any assignments to do and thus no motivation to procrastinate with fic!). Sorry if this chapted is sucky... I knew what I wanted to write I'm just not particularly good at writing it.**

 **Thanks for all the delightful reviews! Bon Appetite xx**

* * *

"Hey Jess, do you have a black pen I could borrow?" Nick was leaning on her desk while the entire class was working silently and she wanted to kill him.

"How about you sit down, Miller." She didn't even look up from the work she was marking.

"What's the point of me sitting down if I don't even have a pen to write with?" His tone was sarcastic now and she had to pretend to be annoyed, slowly looking up to see he had the smile to match.

"You're really annoying; you know that?" She continued plastering on her best unimpressed face. It was so obvious what he was doing.

He took the pen from her hand with a cocky wink and turned to walk back to his desk.

"Ugh Nick." She said, a little too loud. So loud that the whole class stopped and looked up at her.

* * *

He had started doing stuff like this, every class. Just little things that he knew would get a rise out of her.

And it was working.

Always being the last person to leave the class, asking her countless questions that were hardly even on topic and the worst of all, booking office hours.

What the hell. As if he genuinely had school related things to talk to her about. But it was against the rules for her to reject a student's request.

"Nick." She said as he walked into the empty classroom. Shutting the door behind him.

"Thanks so much for meeting with me." He sat down in the chair in front of her desk with a smug look on his face.

"I'm your teacher. It's my job."

She was in a particular shitty mood.

The plumbing in her apartment was stuffed and the tap was running all night. She hadn't had more than an hours sleep and she was having to meet with Nick Miller on what was supposed to be her afternoon off. Just for him to flirt with her and make her have to sit through an hour of pretending she didn't want him back. Like she had been all week.

It was getting pretty exhausting. The whole being in love with someone that you're not allowed to be in love with… even though she cringed at the thought… 'love'? ew.

"So what did you want to talk about?" She let out a sigh and rubbed her eyes. She just didn't have the energy to keep them open.

"Is everything okay, Jess?"

She looked up at him as soon as she heard the tone in his voice.

It wasn't sarcastic and it wasn't the normal cocky Nick she had been getting used to lately. It was kind of raw and caring and she was taken back.

"Yeh, sorry, I'm just so tired, you know? Is it that obvious?" She tried to laugh. Looking at the concerned look in his eye.

"I'm sorry... if… this has to do with me? Or-" Now he felt bad. Great. She looks like she can't take a joke.

"No. It's not you." She busted in quick. "I just haven't been sleeping well and my apartments falling apart and I have all of this marking to do and –"She realised quickly how much she was going on. "Sorry, you're not my therapist."

"Jess." He raised his eyebrows. "You're allowed to be tired and you're allowed to vent." He let off a little chuckle, still serious Nick though (the hottest Nick).

"Thanks." She blushed a little. Looking down at the note book in front of her. "But please, let's talk about you. How can I help?"

He suddenly felt really bad for wasting her time, so he came up with a few questions to ask about his last assignment and then started to wrap it up.

"Take it easy, Jess." He said as he put his coat on. "And if you need any help with your apartment, I'm pretty handy around the house."

She laughed. He was such a jerk but he also had this real gentleman side.

"I'll be fine, but thanks." As if she could ever invite him into her house and watch him be all manly, with his tools and ugh.

* * *

"You can't come out until next week?" She was almost crying on the phone. It had been three days of non-stop drip-drop and her bathroom was borderline flooding. "Well it's all fun and games until your entire apartment building is flooded!" she yelled down the phone and hung up.

She was making a big deal of this. And maybe it was because she wanted to have to ask _him_ for help. He was the last resort and the faster she got there, the better.

She opened up her laptop and scrolled through the school file until she found his name. Woops. This was probably illegal on several counts. But it was kind of exciting.

She typed his number into her phone and decided on a text. No flirting and no playing the damsel in distress.

 _Hey Nick, Jessica Day here! Just wondering if I could take you up on that offer… You know, the one about you fixing things in my apartment?_

She clicked send and she almost instantly regretted it. This was literally asking for trouble.

 _No problem at all. Text me your address and I'll head over this afternoon? Nick._

* * *

"Nick, thank you so much for coming." Jess opened the door and OF COURSE he did that stupid kiss her on the cheek thing that made her feel some kind of way.

"Of course, Jess." He had a smirk on his face as he watched her regain composure after his little display of affection. But really she was kind of distracted by his outfit.

He had on these tan pants with a brown belt but the worst part was the shirt that was tucked into them. It was a kind of grey sweater and it was doing ridiculously amazing things for his body. Jess hated it.

He laughed. Like he always does when he catches her looking lost in thoughts he's more than sure are about him. Jess hated it.

"Soo, this is my house." She chuckled, stepping backwards to let him through. "As you can see, it takes insane maintenance, being so big and all."

"I can absolutely see why you needed to call in the big guns." He said with a laugh, dropping his toolbox and taking a walk around the tiny lounge room. "I like it, Jess. It's very you."

"Oh yeah?" She blushed. "And what exactly does that mean?" Okay, yeah, it was flirty and definitely went against every rule she had set for herself prior to him coming inside. But rules were dumb and he's really hot.

A smile took over his face at her invitation to flirt back and he turned back towards her.

"Well, it's small." She giggled. "And it's beautiful to look at."

"You think so?" Her smile mirrored his completely as she looked up into his eyes.

"I know so. It's also really sweet and kind of perfect. Yeah, I guess you could say I am very, very attracted to your apartment."

"Nick!" She pretended to be mad as he leaned down and kissed her hard on her lips. Just for a moment.

"Okay, this is not why I called you over here. I promise." She pushed his chest back and began to walk into the bathroom.

"I honestly wouldn't be mad." He followed behind her. "Holy shit, Jess? How long has it been like this?"

Her bathroom floor had towels all over it as the sink and the shower continued to drip. Jess went to turn on the light.

"Jessica!" He grabbed her arm and pulled it away from the switch. "Please tell me you haven't been running electricity through here." He pointed at her hair dryer and stared at her.

"I mean, I hadn't really thought –"

"Oh my god, Jess! You should have called me like, a week ago." He was almost mad, but in a ridiculously hot kind of protective way.

"My landlord was meant to sort it out!" She laughed a little and he sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"It's fine. It'll be fine. I just –"He stared at her and then back at the damp floor, "You could have seriously hurt yourself."

* * *

Nick had been working on the bathroom for the better half of an hour and Jess had stood leaning on the door and watching, the entire time.

He would sometimes turn around and ask her for some special tool which she had absolutely no idea what it was, but besides that, Nick was a very focused fixer.

He would chuckle at the things she said and sometimes respond in yes or no answers, but he was far too occupied working those forearms and driving her crazy.

"Wow, this is kind of the dream." She laughed. "A hot guy working on my pipes without talking back to me."

He stopped for a minute and turned back to look at her. He had the most amused and genuine look in his eyes, she couldn't help but blush.

"You're such an idiot, Jess." He shook his head and tried to hide his smile.

* * *

Finally, Nick was packing up his tools and the sink was working perfectly.

"I'm all done, Jess!" He called down the hall as he hopped onto his feet.

"Oh my god, you're honestly the best." She began turning the sink on and off really quick.

"Jess." He laughed, holding the tap off over her hand.

"Thank you." She blushed a little. "I mean it, Nick. This means a lot."

He just smiled, looking into her eyes in the extremely difficult to escape position.

"Oh, and while you're here –" She busted out, ruining the moment. "The lightbulb in my bedroom hasn't worked for like… since I moved in."

"You don't know how to change a lightbulb?"

"No? Why would I ever have to know that?"

"Hmm I don't know? When you live by yourself?" They both began to laugh as she passed him the spare globe.

"Nick." She said as he was stretching up to swap the bulb, his shirt just beginning to untuck itself.

"Jess." He chuckled. Looking over towards her, as she leaned on the door frame.

"Do you wanna stay for dinner?"

"I think it's the least you could do." He laughed.

"I think that's my line." She smiled, heading into the kitchen.

* * *

"I don't like vegetables." Nick said, coming up behind her as she continued to mix them in the pan.

"What are you? Five years old?" She refused to turn around as he placed a hand on the bench either side of her body.

"Could a five-year-old do this?" He started kissing her neck and it was absolutely hot as hell. But in that context?

"Nick, ew. Did you hear what you just said?" She kept her eyes firmly on the veggies.

"Okay, that's fair." He gave her shoulders a quick rub before setting the table.

They ate dinner and chatted about things like childhoods and college life. It was a side of him she had never had the chance to see just one on one.

And then of course, the inevitable previous relationships conversation came up.

"Six years? What a jerk." Nick raised his eyebrows as Jess took another drink from her wine glass.

"Yep! What a waste of time that was."

"I don't know. I feel like sometimes you gotta deal with this kind of crap to realise you can't take advantage of what's in front of you." He stood up and grabbed her plate as he headed into the kitchen. "I was with Caroline for such a long time that I forgot what it was like to feel the real deal kind of love, you know? I was too comfortable and too scared to change that."

"Mmm." Jess agreed as she contemplated what he was saying while swirling her wine. "And now?" She looked over at him, who was leaning with his back against the sink.

"Well." He chuckled. "I guess now I remember what it's like to feel the goose bumps and the butterflies."

She smiled a defeated smile, letting off a big sigh. She liked him. A lot. But she just couldn't keep going with this. She was leading him on when she knew damn well she could never be with one of her students.

"Nick, I-"

"Jessica." He interrupted her, knowing what she was about to say was something he did not want to hear. "I'm in…" He rubbed his hand over his face. "I'm really, really into you."

"Everyone is into their bubbly English teacher." Jess swallowed hard and tried to be brave about the whole thing. "I can't play this part in your sexy teacher fantasy."

"What?" His face changed and she could see he was getting mad. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about, Jess?"

"I don't wanna get hurt, Nick. I made it clear from the start. I can't be with a student."

"That's bullshit, Jess." He ran his hands through his hair and stared at the ceiling. "You know fucking well that isn't what's happening here." He waited for her to respond, and when she didn't, he got even angrier. "I'm not some fucking jerk that's going to cheat on you after six years. I thought you knew me better than that." He was borderline yelling.

"I knew him, too." She mumbled, not looking at him.

"I can't believe this." He hit his hand on the kitchen bench. "After all this, that you'd still think I was some piece of shit."

He stormed out and slammed the door.


End file.
